No arbitrary debates about what he "should" have achieved can ever take away what Neymar means to the game. He inspired a generation to see football not just as a matter of wins and losses but as an art form. The seat next to Ronaldinho is taken. And it's the boy from Mogi das Cruzes who occupies it.
Football-mad teenagers the world over stayed up on shoddy Brazilian streams just for the boy with the Mohawk and the nasal strips. And for those who needed to sleep, the next day YouTube compilations made sure that everyone knew exactly what audacious skill he pulled off the night before.
While others left Brazil early, hellbent on proving themselves in the European game. Neymar seemed to understand more than most that it isn't really about how where you play the game that attracts an audience. It's about how you play it.
The very embodiment of Joga Bonito. His game so beautiful that the only way to combat it was through brute force. While some hold his injury record against him, watch back any of the horror tackles he used to receive routinely and it starts to make more sense. The violence that his artistry inspired ultimately became his downfall. An irony so bittersweet that it could only be devised by the football gods.
In any other era, he'd have a Ballon d'Or. But is it really such a big deal that he doesn't? A Champions League trophy, Puskás Award, Copa Libertadores, and ten league titles is a career that most can only dream of. And with Pele's record for Brazil only a goal away from being his, his importance to A Seleção Canarinha will soon be a matter of historical record. No matter what the naysayers have to say about it.
In an age when players are increasingly becoming robotic, we seem to forget that we've been graced with a genius whose talents could never be boiled down to numbers. A career that should be celebrated, not put under a microscope.
You can debate as much as you like. But don't let the discourse keep you from enjoying Neymar. For all his talents and all his faults. Because when it's over, there won't be anyone like him again.
I want a Steve who genuinely doesn't want to play DnD because it's just not his thing! He enjoys watching and thinks some of it seems fun, but just isn't interested in the time commitment, or the math, or various other parts of it.
HOWEVER he does demand, like a child when they find out someone is writing a book, to be put in every single campaign as a random npc. He doesn't want to sit down for hours roleplaying, but he does want that seductress in the tavern to have good hair and be named Stevana.
And this isn't like, something the others don't know about, it's very obvious who it is each campaign. Sometimes Eddie even convinces Steve to do the voice for the character if it's a fun one and Steve isn't at work. Steve enjoys how much it both amuses and gets on various Hellfire members nerves, especially because his characters are always... Pretty out there.
Gareth and Jeff tend to be amused by Steve's characters, unless they are actively getting in their way and even then Jeff at least normally just finds them hilarious. Freak continues to want to study Steve like a bug. A crowd favorite for the CC members but a point of annoyance for the Party was the character that Steve pitched that was infatuated with that quest's main villain and would appear randomly just to say something really suggestive about the big bad, inconvenience them somehow even in a really minor way, and then dip. They were definitely supposed to be rescuing Stefano at one point but he was basically kidnapping himself at several points. Dustin is perpetually annoyed because Steve won't play with them for real, but he WILL play a random bimbo that starts them on a quest and enjoys flirting with the older members characters.
(Will and Lucas are... Maybe a little disappointed he's never flirted with their characters but also, Steve would never do that lol.)
Eddie is fine with it, he thinks this is a great compromise. He gets that Steve doesn't want to do hours long storytelling sessions, but this way he still gets to enjoy time with Steve doing one of his favorite things - creating characters and writing the most annoying stories possible. He loves that Steve is participating in even just a small way, and honestly only having him participate for a little bit at a time is better for Eddie's ability to stay on task anyway. He knows Steve wouldn't have fun being a player but he also knows Steve loves being a problem.
severely unwell over the fact that dmitry was ready to drown to save lane's life, survived that, threw himself in front of an infected horde to save lane's life, survived that, almost succumbed to a fucking bite covering lane's back, survived that, and is probably still gonna go on to throw himself into the jaws of death for her every 2 seconds. let's pls digest that for a moment
to say toontown lives in my mind rent free would be an understatement, toontown is the landlord of the apartment complex that is my sanity. anyways heres some of my recent sketches
art meme by @purgatorei . i decided no repeats because it would just literally be ms. mingler for every single one
the new supervisor designs kinda slap tbh aka i wanted to draw the freaky smiley golf lady but decided i should do the others too
oh and then i realized its called toontown and i literally never draw the toons so i did that and then caved and drew a cog anyways im sorry for letting capitalism win
steve and billy teaching in the same school!! there's these teachers in my school and they work right across the hall from each other. they're always yelling into each others classrooms.
she teaches english lit 101 and he teaches gov 102
"Harrington!"
Some of the kids snickered quietly when Mr. Harrington jumped at the shout from across the hall.
He stared blankly at the last word he had written on the board, the black Expo mark wiggles from where he had jumped at the yell of his name.
He turned around, sighing exaggeratedly at Mr. Hargrove standing in the doorway.
"Kids, excuse my coworker here." He crossed his arms around his chest. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, you can Mr. H."
Steve rolled his eyes as his husband swaggered into his classroom, leading a line of ninth graders with him.
It's not the first time Billy's interrupted his class with a question about some inane bullshit that launched Steve into an over-excited rant for the rest of class.
Steve's tenth and eleventh graders were already closing their textbooks, knowing their teacher was just about to be insanely distracted for the rest of class.
"The birds n' I are reading The Crucible."
Fuck.
Steve's pretty sure Billy's kids pay him to bring them across the hall for these impromptu lectures.
"Witch hunts. I get it."
"Yeah, you know. Anyway, I'm giving some context to the publishing of the book. The Red Scare in the United States, well, the second Red Scare, as well as the rise of McCarthyism coincided with the publishing of the play."
Goddammit.
Steve's fucking master's thesis was on all about McCarthyism (more specifically, how the second Red Scare was directly linked to the Lavender Scare.) He cited the stupid play in his research.
Billy knows that. They were already engaged by the time Steve began his master's program.
Fuck this guy, for real.
Steve quietly closed his power point presentation on interest groups in America.
"Fine. Mr. Hargrove's class, find a seat. My class, your packet is still due Friday. I'll post the slides after class." He glared at Billy.
Billy grinned right back, his tongue poking out in that frustrating way it has since high school.
"1950s United States. What do you know?"
A few hands went up.
Even Billy raised his stupid hand. Steve ignored him.
-
"Which brings us to the end of the decade. With the early 1960s, we have the reformation in the Catholic Church, known as Vatican ll-"
The bell cut him off mid-sentence, and there was a mad scramble as the students all tried to pack up as quickly as possible, before Steve could keep going.
"My class," he nearly shouted over the scraping of chairs against linoleum. "Your packets are still due Friday! I don't care that Mr. Hargrove interrupted our time."
"And birds! The rubric is posted on the class page! I want outlines handed in on Tuesday."
The classroom door closed behind the final kid.
"You're a dick."
Billy laughed.
"Nah, you just teach that shit so much better than I do."
Steve rolled his eyes. He sat behind his desk, yanking over a stack of twelfth grade research assignments to begin grading. Billy perched on the other side of his desk.
"Y'know, you could just ask me to come in and lecture. You don't have to interrupt my own class."
"Yeah, but it's fun to wind you up and watch you go. And I think the birds like it when they see that you're passionate about something. Why do you think I always start with The Joy Luck Club?"
"Because you have mommy issues."
"No. Because Ying-ying's story makes me sob like a bitch, and the birds get to realize that I'm a real-life human."
Steve scrubbed his face with his hands, collecting himself before facing his dumbass husband again.
"Wait, you said they had an essay due. What's the essay?"
"Oh, comparing the Salem Witch Trials and the goings on of the U.S. government in the mid 1950s. You know."
"So, you created an assignment, knowing that I would infodump all that shit to your kids?"
"Yes."
"I want a divorce."
Billy laughed, leaning over Steve's desk to kiss his forehead.
"No, you don't."
"No, I don't. I love you. But also you suck."
The bell sounded to indicate the end of passing period.
Billy got off the desk, stretching with a groan.
"Would you be mad if I brought my senior class in?"
Steve glared at him in the doorway.
"What's the assignment?"
"They're presenting on the parallels between 1984 and the current political climate."
i answered kind of speedily but hm blorbo should not be at the club
teenage era? the most debatable era tbh. on one hand - for one, if jiang cheng goes, he's going because he thinks that's what the cool kids his age should be doing, rather than because it's what he actually wants to do. for two, if he goes he's certainly going with wei wuxian. there's a good chance he'll have a good time with wei wuxian, but there's also a good chance that he'll spend the entire experience way too high-strung about wei wuxian doing something stupid (guaranteed) that will make both him and yunmeng jiang look stupid (not guaranteed but still likely) and/or put wei wuxian in danger (also very likely). there's also an even higher chance that wei wuxian will end up fucking off to chat/flirt/etc with other people (eg. lan wangji who wei wuxian also managed to drag to the club, who then gets drunk and thus wei wuxian now has to babysit), thereby leaving jiang cheng all by his lonesome. jiang cheng can probably talk to strangers, but he came here to have fun with wei wuxian and now wei wuxian has ding dong ditched. bonus points if wei wuxian promised to be designated driver and now jiang cheng has to uber home.
on the other hand - teenage wei wuxian and jiang cheng are definitely making the club more fun. mostly wei wuxian. and, despite all of the above, jiang cheng is probably having a good time...most of the time...too.
adult era: nah. jiang cheng is busy. it would be nice if he could let loose and forget about everything for a few hours, but he would not do that. realistically he'd just spend the entire time stressing about his growing to-do list, and the music would give him a headache.
also, everything at the club would remind him of wei wuxian. wei wuxian, certified party animal, was almost certainly the one dragging jiang cheng to the club in their youth; jiang cheng probably does in fact have some happy memories of clubbing with wei wuxian. but those happy memories are gonna curdle into depressing ones the moment he steps through the doors and is reminded of wei wuxian again. the photos of wei wuxian doing a keg stand behind the bar are making him miserable, and he in turn is going to make it everyone else's problem.
postcanon era: also nah. mostly because he'd almost certainly run into jin ling et al. sneaking into the club with fake IDs, and now everyone's yelling.
on the other hand....maybe he and wei wuxian can eventually reconcile over a night of partying they're both frankly way too old for. or maybe when they wake up the next day in the same ditch with matching hangovers.
If I ever end up wanting to curse someone... If I ever end up using my powers for evil... If I ever end up wanting to eradicate people rather than spirits... I wonder if there will be anyone to stop me.
alright, i've never done a proper 'intro' post for a fic/au i have in mind, but this one has been rotting in my brain for ages and i know there's no way i'm not gonna write something for it eventually so here goes, bear with me <3 made a lil edit (took me fucking hours to collect enough stock footage lmfao) to go along with it too >:)
a modern au where college student curt is a regular at a new–ish queer nightclub, showing up every friday night without fail to dance his heart out, his way of de–stressing at the end of every week and getting his pent up energy out. he's the prettiest little thing, dresses up so fun– some nights he throws on dresses or crop tops with skirts or short shorts when he's feeling it, other nights he goes for more of a relaxed baggy pants and flowy linen button up type of vibe– always with the same pair of scuffed up sneakers on for ease of dancing.
the bartenders and other regulars adore their bubbly little club bunny, always looking out for him, doting on him with free drinks and food. and even if some of them eye curt like he's dinner when he's out on the floor swaying his hips, eyes closed to fully lose himself in the music, the glitter on his eyelids and cheekbones catching the lights just right, curt's not there for any of that. he dances with people occasionally, he's confident and carefree and likes the attention and it makes him giggle when he catches newcomers staring, doesn't mind a wandering hand here and there, but he never goes home with anyone. the same routine, every friday, dancing until his dark waves are curling damp with sweat against his temples and his black eyeshadow is smudged and he leaves to make the walk back to the flat he shares with a few roomies.
enter john and gale, longterm boyfriends who sometimes like to go out clubbing and find someone pretty to bring home for a fun time, only an open relationship in that sense– they have no interest in actually dating other people, both adamant that it's no strings attached, too head over heels for each other to have eyes for anyone else anyway.
they decide to check out a club they haven't been to yet, usually sticking to the tried and true ones, but a couple of their friends recommend it, so they give it a go one friday night. they've barely sat down at the bar with their drinks when they see a boy who, john comments to gale, looks like the 'energizer bunny' (gets a snort out of curt when he tells him so in the future.) even once they're buzzed enough to head out onto the dance floor together, neither of them can take their eyes off of the bundle of energy, mesmerized.
they both know the other is equally enamoured with the boy, drinking up all the glitter and bouncy curls and blissed out smiles, already knowing they just have to have him– the prettiest thing they've ever seen. curt's confused when they approach him, because he's noticed them too, has been admiring from afar, but he's also noticed their hands and lips all over each other, dancing much too close and comfortably to not be a couple. but john purrs out "we just like to have a little fun every now and then sweetheart, don't you?"
and no, not really, he doesn't. usually a night of exhausting himself dancing is his idea of fun, not ever looking for anything else, not finding most guys worth his time. but john and gale sweet talk him just right, spend time actually getting to know him when he agrees to let them buy him a drink at the bar, and fuck, they're both the hottest things he's seen walk into the club in a long time, and they're giving him all their attention? he decides that maybe he'll be brave and flirt back. despite his confidence and lack of caring what other people think about him, he's so shy and easily flustered when someone he's actually into makes the moves on him, doesn't even know what to do with himself when he realizes he's blushing at their compliments and the combination of their heavy gazes on him.
obviously they all get each other worked up as the night goes on, and curt goes home with them and gets his world rocked, spoiled and pillow princess–ed and showered in praise, not at all what he expects hook–ups to be like after having only been with people he's been dating. he expects to walk back home after since they all live in the same vicinity of downtown, tries to ignore his wobbly legs when he finally crawls out of bed, gets dragged back down by gale for one last messy breathless makeout while john gets him an uber before curt can protest or offer to pay.
normally john and gale don't get the numbers of their one night stands, but they want to make sure he gets home safe, and they can both gauge how the other is feeling and they know they'll want to see him again if they're lucky enough for curt to say yes, so john puts his number into curt's phone and tells him "text when you're home safe, yeah? or, y'know, text whenever you want." and curt isn't sure if this is john saying they both want to see him again, because he's dense and shy and they made it clear beforehand that they're in a closed relationship, but next friday he texts to let them know he'll be at the club again, and john and gale tell him they'll be there, the three of them going home together for a second time that night, and they fall into a routine from then on.
curt gets giddy every friday, dolling himself up extra pretty for the two men, flushed at their attention every time and so thrilled to dress up for someone other than himself for once. he can already feel himself going all heart–eyes for them after the second or third time they hook up, but he knows where he stands, and he's having fun experimenting for the first time and having two experienced, sweet guys show him a good time every week, so he doesn't want to jeopardize that by getting his feelings involved.
little does he know that john and gale are falling head over heels too for this sweet energetic boy, loving how much he spices up their lives, both in the bedroom and out, realizing their flat feels so quiet now on the nights where they don't take curt home with them. so that leads to some serious conversations to see if they're on the same page about getting to know curt better, both of them learning how to navigate this new territory because neither of them expected to want to bring someone else into their world like this. they agree they'd like to take curt out on a cute date, during the daytime for once, to properly test the waters and see how curt feels– of course he slots into their lives perfectly, as if he's been there all along. <3
but along the way: lots of slow burn, miscommunication, endless filthy smut, curt trying to balance college and work and friends with his newfound feelings for john and gale, john and gale getting dragged to raves and festivals by their always adventurous bf, city night–life juxtaposed by early morning domesticity, etc etc.
this has been floating around in my head for a couple weeks since i got this vision of 2012–stalker–era barry with eyeshadow and glitter stuck in my brain and thus a whole universe/plot spawned from it. honestly would mostly be pwp, but would love to write a proper fic for it anyway eventually, each chapter littered with filth, obviously LOL. i have so many thoughts and so many little scenarios planned out in my head already... these three have me in a chokehold.
i need to make proper intro/drabble posts like these for my other aus too aghhh it just takes so longggg because i get carried away with the drabble and then i have to find the perfect clips for edits and the perfect pics to tie it all together and suddenly i've spent half a day on one post but. someday <3 leaving!bikeriders au next surely! thx for reading hope u enjoy this version of the boys and hopefully i'll have time to write it soon!
all posts about this au will be under #curtbuckbucky nightclub au :-)
After getting over the initial coke high of seeing Vash's old hairstyle again, I was just thinking about like. How cool it is. And how cool it WASN'T in the early 00's when Trigun was like a cool new anime.
Most anime oldies in the West saw Trigun on TV in 2003 or 2004. One of the big guns on Toonami, part of the first big push for anime's popularity in the West. And I'm thinking about how it was seriously, no joke fr social suicide to admit that you knew what it was or liked it.
I was a lil kid in elementary school but I was also on the internet lol and saw terrible hate comments towards anime in general at that time and in particular towards spiky or pointing-straight-up haircuts like this or Goku or Hiei or Vash. IT WAS *AS UNCOOL AS FUCKING POSSIBLE* to like anime in the early 00's.
I can remember a couple kids in middle school laughing their fucking asses off seeing a picture of Vash the Stampede on some kid's binder and all but torturing him daily for it. I just looked away like a coward, pretending I didn't understand what they were talking about, praying to God they wouldn't sense the same thing about me. High schoolers at the time surely got treated worse still. (After Pokemon's insane popularity faded, I was terrified af to talk about any anime except with my very best friend, did not get "brave" about it till like 11th grade when its popularity was a little stronger)
To see such joy and thousands of happy opinions about Vash's old hair, his ridiculous cut that was for bottom-of-the-ladder loser outcast kids that nobody sat with at lunch...makes me feel some type of way. Makes me feel a change I somehow didn't expect in the world. Vash isn't just cool for nerds, he's cool for everyone. He was cool all along, of course. Now everyone sees.
I know it's been the case for a handful of years now, but with Vash's old hair returning to worldwide fan applause, with simply no one left who'd call it stupid or cringe, I'm feeling it more strongly tonight. Nerds are COOL now. Fortnite and Minecraft and My Hero Academia are what kids talk about openly on the playground and nerd merchandise and creative efforts are marketable and shiny and desired by all. It's...so...weird!
Pop culture has done a 180 like Vash's fucking hair in this episode lol great segue goodnight everybody.